The 20th chapter of Acts finds Paul stopping in Troas for a week of marathon preaching.
The night before he plans to leave town, he meets with local disciples on the top floor of a 3 story building. And he's got a lot to say.
He preaches until midnight.
In the lamplight, a young man named Eutychus is sitting on a windowsill, and he's getting drowsy. When he nods off, he tumbles backwards out the window and is dead on impact with the ground below.
Can you imagine the turmoil as everyone ran down the steps to get to Eutychus?
Paul is among the crowd gathered over the body, and when the boy is pronounced dead, the preacher throws himself on top of the body and puts his arms around him. Then he pronounces, "He's alive!"
Eutychus apparently joins everyone back upstairs to share in communion before Paul continues to preach ... until the sun rises.
Imagine how different it could have been. The whole evening could have lived on in everyone's memory as a tragedy. Everyone would have left shaken and distraught. Some may have even blamed Paul. And what would the death of Eutychus have done to the crowd's faith in God?
It would have completely overshadowed every last thing that Paul had found so urgent to teach before his departure.
As it turned out, Eutychus's resurrection must have expanded every witness's faith exponentially. It must have reinforced everything Paul had preached about.
To me, the lesson is this: the Lord has power to turn a Lose/Lose situation into a Win/Win.
In fact, it's one of His specialties ... especially when human beings are utterly powerless to do so.
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